Recent from talks
SR V class
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
SR V class
The SR V class, more commonly known as the Schools class, is a class of steam locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Railway. The class was a cut down version of his Lord Nelson class but also incorporated components from Urie and Maunsell's LSWR/SR King Arthur class. It was the last locomotive in Britain to be designed with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, and was the most powerful class of 4-4-0 ever produced in Europe. All 40 of the class were named after English public schools, and were designed to provide a powerful class of intermediate express passenger locomotive on semi-fast services for lines which could cope with high axle loads but some of which had short turntables.
Because they used a King Arthur firebox, rather than the square-topped Belpaire firebox used on the Lord Nelsons, the class could be used on lines with a restricted loading gauge and some of the best performance by the class was on the heavily restricted Tonbridge to Hastings line. The locomotives performed well from the beginning but were subject to various minor modifications to improve their performance over the years. The class operated until 1961 when mass withdrawals took place and all had gone by December 1962. Three examples are now preserved on heritage railways in Britain.
By 1928, the Southern Railway was well served by large 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives, but there was an urgent need for a class to fulfill intermediate roles throughout the system. Although they proved to be reliable and strong locomotives in common with his other 4-4-0 rebuilds, Maunsell’s previous development of the remaining fifteen of his predecessor’s L class was undertaken merely to tide over the Southern Railway until the completion of the King Arthur and Lord Nelson projects.
Thus, an entirely new secondary express passenger locomotive was required to operate over the main lines throughout the system, specifically for the Tonbridge to Hastings line and the Kent Coast expresses, with due regard to limitations imposed by relatively short turntables in some places on the network.[citation needed]
Maunsell’s original plan was to use large-wheeled 2-6-4 tank engines for this purpose, but the Sevenoaks railway accident made him have second thoughts. He therefore chose a relatively short wheelbase 4-4-0 design although by this period 4-6-0 was more usual for this type of work. Authorities disagree as to whether Maunsell had in mind the restricted loading gauge of the Tonbridge to Hastings line when he designed the class, or whether this was an "unexpected bonus" when he was forced to substitute a "King Arthur" round-topped firebox to his planned Belpaire design to reduce the axle load on the driving wheels to acceptable limits. In either event the class was undoubtedly Maunsell's most immediately successful design, and the locomotives did some of their best work on the Hastings route.[citation needed]
The basic layout of the class was influenced by the existing ‘’Lord Nelson’’ class 4-6-0 design, but the use of the round topped firebox enabled Maunsell to design the cab's curved profile to fit the gauge restrictions of the Hastings line while allowing adequate forward visibility. The short frame length of the 4-4-0 locomotive also meant very little overhang on the line's tight curves. To maintain the high power rating required for express passenger engines, Maunsell opted for a three-cylinder design. In terms of tractive effort, the class was the most powerful 4-4-0 ever built in Britain, and were the only 4-4-0 type to be given the power classification of 5P by British Railways. They were well liked by crews. They also had a higher tractive effort than the nominally more powerful King Arthur class 4-6-0s, but at the cost of high axle-loading: 21 long tons (21 t). The permanent way on the Hastings line therefore had to be upgraded during 1929 and 1930 to accept the new locomotive.
Permission was granted for the first batch of fifteen locomotives in March 1928, but this was reduced to ten when it became apparent that they would not immediately be able to operate on the Hastings route. Production delays at Eastleigh railway works meant that they were not delivered until between March and July 1930. Once the original batch had proved their worth and had been well received by the crews a further twenty locomotives were ordered in March 1931 for delivery between December 1932 and March 1934. A third batch of twenty were ordered from Eastleigh in March 1932 after the completion of the previous order, but this was subsequently reduced to ten locomotives because of the continuing trade depression. The final locomotive in the class was delivered in July 1935.[citation needed]
The Southern Railway continued its 1923 naming policy for express passenger locomotives with this class. As several public schools were located on the Southern Railway network, the locomotives were named after them. This was another marketing success for both railway and schools concerned, continuing in the tradition of the N15 King Arthur and Lord Nelson classes.
Hub AI
SR V class AI simulator
(@SR V class_simulator)
SR V class
The SR V class, more commonly known as the Schools class, is a class of steam locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Railway. The class was a cut down version of his Lord Nelson class but also incorporated components from Urie and Maunsell's LSWR/SR King Arthur class. It was the last locomotive in Britain to be designed with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, and was the most powerful class of 4-4-0 ever produced in Europe. All 40 of the class were named after English public schools, and were designed to provide a powerful class of intermediate express passenger locomotive on semi-fast services for lines which could cope with high axle loads but some of which had short turntables.
Because they used a King Arthur firebox, rather than the square-topped Belpaire firebox used on the Lord Nelsons, the class could be used on lines with a restricted loading gauge and some of the best performance by the class was on the heavily restricted Tonbridge to Hastings line. The locomotives performed well from the beginning but were subject to various minor modifications to improve their performance over the years. The class operated until 1961 when mass withdrawals took place and all had gone by December 1962. Three examples are now preserved on heritage railways in Britain.
By 1928, the Southern Railway was well served by large 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives, but there was an urgent need for a class to fulfill intermediate roles throughout the system. Although they proved to be reliable and strong locomotives in common with his other 4-4-0 rebuilds, Maunsell’s previous development of the remaining fifteen of his predecessor’s L class was undertaken merely to tide over the Southern Railway until the completion of the King Arthur and Lord Nelson projects.
Thus, an entirely new secondary express passenger locomotive was required to operate over the main lines throughout the system, specifically for the Tonbridge to Hastings line and the Kent Coast expresses, with due regard to limitations imposed by relatively short turntables in some places on the network.[citation needed]
Maunsell’s original plan was to use large-wheeled 2-6-4 tank engines for this purpose, but the Sevenoaks railway accident made him have second thoughts. He therefore chose a relatively short wheelbase 4-4-0 design although by this period 4-6-0 was more usual for this type of work. Authorities disagree as to whether Maunsell had in mind the restricted loading gauge of the Tonbridge to Hastings line when he designed the class, or whether this was an "unexpected bonus" when he was forced to substitute a "King Arthur" round-topped firebox to his planned Belpaire design to reduce the axle load on the driving wheels to acceptable limits. In either event the class was undoubtedly Maunsell's most immediately successful design, and the locomotives did some of their best work on the Hastings route.[citation needed]
The basic layout of the class was influenced by the existing ‘’Lord Nelson’’ class 4-6-0 design, but the use of the round topped firebox enabled Maunsell to design the cab's curved profile to fit the gauge restrictions of the Hastings line while allowing adequate forward visibility. The short frame length of the 4-4-0 locomotive also meant very little overhang on the line's tight curves. To maintain the high power rating required for express passenger engines, Maunsell opted for a three-cylinder design. In terms of tractive effort, the class was the most powerful 4-4-0 ever built in Britain, and were the only 4-4-0 type to be given the power classification of 5P by British Railways. They were well liked by crews. They also had a higher tractive effort than the nominally more powerful King Arthur class 4-6-0s, but at the cost of high axle-loading: 21 long tons (21 t). The permanent way on the Hastings line therefore had to be upgraded during 1929 and 1930 to accept the new locomotive.
Permission was granted for the first batch of fifteen locomotives in March 1928, but this was reduced to ten when it became apparent that they would not immediately be able to operate on the Hastings route. Production delays at Eastleigh railway works meant that they were not delivered until between March and July 1930. Once the original batch had proved their worth and had been well received by the crews a further twenty locomotives were ordered in March 1931 for delivery between December 1932 and March 1934. A third batch of twenty were ordered from Eastleigh in March 1932 after the completion of the previous order, but this was subsequently reduced to ten locomotives because of the continuing trade depression. The final locomotive in the class was delivered in July 1935.[citation needed]
The Southern Railway continued its 1923 naming policy for express passenger locomotives with this class. As several public schools were located on the Southern Railway network, the locomotives were named after them. This was another marketing success for both railway and schools concerned, continuing in the tradition of the N15 King Arthur and Lord Nelson classes.
Recent media